You can already see why the title of this post fits, as I've already gone off on a tangent before making it to the 2nd sentence of this post. If you haven't kept up with me on Facebook, you may not know that I'm pregnant.... About 6 months, to be exact. I always have been a mindful eater and this month I've really been focusing (more than usual) and pledged, to spend the month of October not eating processed foods at all.
Yesterday morning, I had to have a test to see if I had gestational diabetes. I had asked my doctor in advance if I could try a more difficult way to take this test that my blood tech from my previous doctor had told me about. This phlebotamist had gotten to know me and the work that I do pretty well. She explained there's a way to take the test eating only natural foods but it was an insane amount of food and a lot of work. I was willing to try it. I asked my doctor about this and they said there was no such thing that was accurate and this was my only choice. (red flag!!, but I'll get to that later)
Basically, the normal version of this test is an insane amount of glucose & dextrose that you have to drink straight. They call it Glucola. You also can't eat anything for two hours beforehand. To make it worse, they add a ton of artificial flavors and colors to it. Most people say it's not that bad and it reminds them of drinking orange Hi-C. It was truly disgusting. For someone like me, it was a swift reminder of why I have avoided eating/ drinking chemical laden foods several years ago.
Needless to say, my body did not react well (by my standards) and here it is almost 24 hours later and I'm still feeling the effects. The first thing I noticed right away was sweating, jitters and mild shakes. The next thing I noticed while driving to the doctors was that I was in a very cranky & in a very agitated mood. When I brought up these symptoms, the staff said this was completely normal (scary). Ok, mini divergent rant: Is this why our kids have no attention span, are anxious and have behavior problems..... If you add up what most kids eat in a day now, compared to what I drank, there is not a whole lot of difference. Makes me wonder....yeah, after yesterday, not so much.
I left the docs and was given the go ahead to start eating and drinking again. I started chugging water like it was my job, but no matter how much I drank, I was still thirsty. I had to run home, finish packing an overnight bag and drive down to MD to see my family. I couldn't focus. I forgot several important things I needed. As I drove, everything was distracting me and I continued being agitated and cranky. My face had horrible red blotches on it. I looked terrible, despite a good full night's sleep.
I pulled over and stopped at a store to get some nuts and other protein hoping to regulate myself out. I couldn't take these symptoms. The protein definitely helped me to focus more on my driving. An hour and a half later, once arriving, I ate some more protein and veg. Leveled out a bit more. My mantra for the day became no sugar or carbs....only water, protein and vegetables in hopes I could even myself out. It did start to work eventually and spending some happy time with my mom and eldest nephew also helped considerably.
I was doing great until we went to dinner at a neighborhood spot and I forgot myself a moment and got a bread pudding for dessert (one of my favs). I have been tossing and turning all night, with racing thoughts and hyperactivity. I haven't felt like this since college ( not good. I was on medication to treat these symptoms back then). Just after college is when I learned the benefits of changing my diet and never had to be on meds again. The change in how much sleep I began getting, not to mention how much calmer and happier I felt was miraculous.
I am hoping getting back to my normal eating habits today, I'll continue to feel better. But this experience taught me three things
1) I need to stick with my gut feelings and if something doesn't gel with what my doctor recommends I need to speak up and get other opinions/ find another solution we both agree on.... or find a different doctor.
2) I will not be abandoning my eating plan again. It does too much that affects my well being and happiness
3) once my son is born I will be enforcing my healthy habits because I don't want him growing up having to feel miserable and not know there is a better way
I hope my own aggravation during this experience can hopefully help some of you from having to go through the same thing. I hope all of you have a great day.... and be good to yourselves!
